The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

One of those men adored Citrine so much that he seemed to shrink in her presence, while the other, though always butting heads with her, couldn't hide the tenderness in his eyes or the care in his words-feelings he probably hadn't even noticed himself.

He knew Citrine didn't like either of them, but he wasn't sure whether that should make him feel relieved or not.

When it came to emotions, she was an enigma—young, yet impossible for him to read.

As Citrine was eating, she suddenly caught a strange look on his face.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

Sebastian snapped back to the present. He looked into Citrine's eyes, his tone unusually earnest. "I was wondering what kind of person you'd fall for."

What he really wanted to ask was whether she could ever like him, but he didn't dare.

She was simply too far out of reach-brilliant, self-possessed, and distant. All he could do was bury his feelings deep inside.

Most of all, he was afraid that if he ever confessed, things between them would end up like her and Hastings-strained and broken. That was a risk he couldn't bear.

Sebastian held her gaze, as if waiting for her answer.

Citrine didn't reply right away.

What kind of person would she like? She'd never really thought about it.

Those ten wasted years with Theo had drained every last bit of her strength. The scars from that relationship were so deep that, even now, the idea of falling in love again had never crossed her mind.

She answered honestly, "I don't know."noveldrama

Sebastian's eyes still shone with that unwavering intensity. Citrine hesitated, then decided to lay her heart bare, just this once. "Loving someone is exhausting. I don't want to go through that again in this lifetime. I want someone who'll love me, steadfast and true, who'll choose me without hesitation, who'll love me more than life itself—maybe even more than he loves himself. If I ever met that kind of person... maybe I'd fall for him."

Even as she said it, Citrine felt her own words were too much-demanding, even shameless. She thought, perhaps, this would put an end to whatever Sebastian was feeling for her.

But she hadn't expected the look in his eyes to grow even more intense after she finished speaking.

It wasn't disappointment. If anything, he looked almost... excited.

She couldn't imagine what he was thinking.

"There will be someone like that," Sebastian said, his heart pounding in his chest.

Everything she wanted he could do that. Did that mean he had a chance?

His gaze was so fierce and intent that Citrine felt a little scorched by it.

"Why are that?"

hou looking at me like è muttered, a fainted her eyes and focused her

creeping up her ears as she

meal.

Sebastian sat across from her, watching her cheeks puff up like a chipmunk as she chewed-she looked irresistibly cute.

"It's nothing. You're just... adorable," he said, unable to hold back a quiet laugh.

A few minutes later, they finally finished eating, and Citrine felt a wave of relief wash over her.

She was about to come up with an excuse to head back to the hotel when Sebastian spoke up. "There's a show on the beach tonight. Why don't we go watch it together?"

"I don't think so." If she kept agreeing to things like this, Sebastian might get the wrong idea-think she was stringing him along. She didn't want that sooner or later, it would interfere with work.

Sebastian's eyes dimmed, a flicker of hurt passing through them.

Just when he'd felt a glimmer of hope, she shut him down again.

Why did she always choose to run away?

Sebastian didn't know what came over him tonight—he just couldn't let her keep retreating.

He looked at her seriously. "The show's supposed to be amazing. It'd be a shame to miss it."